Wisconsin Trust for Historic Preservation, Inc.

11/01/2026

These Docomomo US/Wisconsin posts and National Trust publications are about proposed changes to Section 106 of “1966 Historic Preservation Act”.
The proposed changes in (BAAJA S..5653) to Section 106 will among other things allow federal government to unilaterally declare that purpose and goal of federal undertakings “outweigh the consideration of historic preservation” and allow Federal projects involving historic sites to apparently proceed without public comment/input on the proposed changes and also eliminate review of projects receiving federal financial assistance and restricts judicial review.
Everyone should asap please contact their representatives in Washinton and request that they carefully review and understand these proposed changes in BAAJA,S.5653 to section 106 before proceeding. A senate vote to proceed is scheduled to be voted upon quickly on November 9, 2026 (11/09/2026)!

10/19/2026

A 10/11/2026 visit to 1958 Seth Peterson Cottage on Mirror Lake, Frank Lloyd Wright’s last residential commission prior to his death? Sadly Wright and Peterson both died before the cottage was completed.
The cottage was later boarded up and deteriorating away when a concerned woman kayaker (named?) paddling by decided to do something and organized the “Seth Peterson Cottage Conservancy Inc.” that saved it.
It is operated by the Conservancy and owned by the State of Wisconsin. The cottage is open for tours to public at times specified and also rented by the Conservancy for overnight stays of not less than 2 night minimum!

10/17/2026

Farnsworth House ! Tomorrow 10/18/26 in Plano Illinois. Sunny and high of 63! Mies van der Rohe will be there in spirit!

10/10/2026

French fur trader Augustin Grignon’s “Inn aka Hotel and Trading Post” in Butte des Morts, WI (as of September 2026).

Oldest commercial building in Winnebago County, 1843, and one of oldest wooden structures in Wisconsin. Also on National Register of Historic Places making it eligible for state and federal historic rehabilitation tax credits.

Augustin (son of Pierre who operated a a trading post to east in 1790 on “Fox River” now Lake BDM due to locks and dams), continued trading with a ferry across river on the “tomahawk trail” connecting Green Bay and Prairie Du Chien before building the 3 story “Inn” in the old Menominee village (aka“ Hill of the dead” due to numerous native American burial sites) at base of a low hill ( apparently a glacial kame).

The 1843 Inn had a first floor trading post,saloon,post office and later antique store with guest rooms and dance floor above.
Hopefully it be can be reused and saved like his son Charles Grignon’s mansion in Kaukauna and not become a vacant lot in downtown Butte des Morts, WI.

10/06/2026

On Saturday 10/3/26 “Renegade Modernism” Docomomo Tour of 2 Michael P Johnson designed and built homes in Grafton, WI!

Michael reportedly is/was a “self taught designer and architectural iconoclast” who designed and built numerous homes thru out the world, and reportedly: “worked out side professional norms and across disciplines…”.

He is now 88 and still an outspoken “renegade” genius who started drawing and building homes with his father in middle school. He said when he took his first job in a building firm he knew more than the people there about construction. He also said: “I learned everything by going and looking!”

Thank you Docomomo for organizing, and homeowners for opening your homes for this fab event!

09/12/2026

Wisconsin Trust Board members from 2021 Saving Historic Theaters Event. What is your favorite historic theatre?

08/02/2026

Registration deadline extended - don't miss this hands-on workshop at Taliesin with APT - The Association for Preservation Technology International!

🏛️ Ever wondered what it was like to be a Frank Lloyd Wright apprentice? Now's your chance to find out ~ for real!

APT is teaming up with the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation's Taliesin Institute for a first-of-its-kind, hands-on workshop at Taliesin itself in Spring Green, Wisconsin. And we mean hands-on! Think mixing and applying sand float plaster, doing field microscopy in Wright's own bedroom, and walking an active restoration site with the crew actually doing the work.

Then you'll sleep where his apprentices slept, eat where they ate, and hang out in the Hillside Theatre for movie night. No slides. No lecture halls. Just the real building, real restoration work, and real experts.

📅 September 3–5, 2026 (optional Sunday add-on)
📍 Taliesin, Spring Green, WI
⏳ Registration closes soon — spots are limited!

🔗 To learn more or register today, visit apti.org/taliesin-workshop.

07/09/2026

Let freedom ring! Scenes from a memorable 250th 4th of July 2026 celebration at the 1903 clubhouse of the Oshkosh Yacht Club and later “The Cook Fuller Post” of the American Legion.
The venue is now known as “The Waters” due to its location and after Oshkosh’s famous 19th century architect, William Waters, who designed the building and sold the land to the yacht club that still makes its home there!
The Waters is also a magnificent event venue on Lake Winnebago where an ILYA A Scow regatta is about to start!

07/09/2026

Hope your 4th of July celebration was memorable! There are several (6?) life sized bronze copies of the original marble statue of George Washington that is in the Virginia State House including this copy in Oshkosh’s Menominee Park on the shore Millers Bay on Lake Winnebago.
There is also a bronze copy in The palace of Versailles in France! Not sure where the others are?

06/13/2026

A nice visit to Heritage Hill near historic Green Bay yesterday!
Interesting that the 49+ acres was formerly used as an orchard by the state prison until the highway came thru creating an opportunity to reuse the land for a historical park with “over 25 original and reconstructed buildings representing historical and cultural developments relevant to Northeast Wisconsin from 1600s to the mid 1900s.”